1. Field of the Invention
The present inventions relate to devices used to protect the knees of persons who spend time on their knees. More particularly, the present invention relates to rolling knee pads that not only protect and cushion the knee but also provide mobility to the wearer while still on his/her knees.
2. Description of the Related Art
Simple knee pads are designed to cushion and protect the wearers knee when the wearer knees contact the ground plane. Some types of knee pads comprise a wear resistant surface layer that contacts the ground plane and a cushioned inside layer that contacts, directly or indirectly, the wearers knee. Other types of knee pads merely comprise a cushion layer to cushion the knee against a hard surface.
Still other types of knee pads have a mechanism to facilitate rolling the knee pad along a surface. These rolling knee pads or cushions may be designed to protect the knee while also providing the wearer with a degree of mobility while the wearer is in the kneeling position. In this type of knee pad, comfort and easy mobility are important to the wearer. It is desirable that the rolling knee pad be easily moveable and that the wearer be able to rise and kneel back upon the knee pad without having to orient the knee pad with his hands because the wearers hands are often engaged, either in grasping tools or materials, or at some other endeavor.
Holsey, U.S. Pat. No. 1,296,522 shows an early design offering a combination rolling feature in a pad that is strapped to the wearers knee. In the Holsey pad, the wearer is supported by one roller and a bar.
Davidson, U.S. Pat. No. 1,547,166 is a more advanced rolling knee pad having two rollers and a support cushion for the knee. The device is again strapped to the wearers knee.
Ashbridge, U.S. Pat. No. 1,382,883 shows a kneeling support that allows the user to kneel on a padded cushion attached to a rolling dolly. The rolling dolly is not attached to the wearers knee.
Martinez et al., U.S. Pat. No. Des. 353,702 shows another rolling knee support. This design has two support pads joined by two rods. Each pad is supported by four wheels. There are no provisions for attaching this roller knee pad to the users knees.
The above devices work well for many applications. However, no device allows the wearer full freedom to rise and resume kneeling without having to position the pad when kneeling and still have full kneeling mobility in any lateral direction. Holsey and Davidson allow the wearer to rise and resume kneeling without having to position the knee pad when kneeling but they only allow kneeling mobility in one direction, ie. perpendicular to the roller axis.
Ashbridge and Martinez et al. allow kneeling mobility in two directions but do not allow the user to rise and then kneel without having to worry about placement of his/her knees on the device.
What is needed is a device which allows the user to rise and resume kneeling without having to pay attention to the placement of the rolling knee pad. At the same time, many users would like the rolling knee pads to easily move laterally in any direction. This combination of features would be valuable for persons who demand extensive lateral movement in any direction when on their knees and who must often rise and re-kneel when moving quickly across large spaces or to retrieve tools and materials.